I'd like to tell you about a really fun game that we have had the opportunity to review as members of the TOS Crew.It's Wits & Wagers Family by NorthStar Games. This is the "family edition of the most award-winning party game in history" (NorthStarGames).The game is designed to be played for those 8 and up, but I think it could be played by younger kids, too, once they got the hang of it.

About North Star Games: Founded by Dominic Crapuchettes, North Star Games "brings friends and families together with fun, innovative party and family games."(NorthStarGames) Mr. Crapuchettes has been designing games for over 30 years, one game was even banned from 8th grade for being played too much during class. His passion for gaming continued into adulthood, even inspiring him to leave the position of captain on an Alaskan salmon fishing boat to start North Star Games! His Co-President is Satish Pillalamarri, who is the Chief Question Writing Officer at the company. Luke Warren is also a designer with North Star Games to add to the fun. You can read more about each of these gentlemen at the Designers page.About Wits & Wagers Family: The game is basically a trivia game with a twist. Mr. Crapuchettes had originally designed a game called Conceptual Pursuits that was transformed into Wits & Wagers, which has now been modified to include the whole family. There are 150 cards, each having two questions. Then there are 5 Answer Boards (these are dry erase) that each player or team has. This means that up to 10 people could play if you were to play teams. The Scoreboard is also dry erase and allows you to, you guessed it, keep score. The first player or team to reach the end is the winner. The cutest thing about this game are the Meeples (this is the little character on the front of the box, you can see them in the picture below, too). These are the little human shaped wooden figures that coordinate color with the Answer Boards. There are 2 sizes, large and small, and each offers a different point amount.

How To Play: As a question is asked, each player writes the answer (it's always a number) on his board and places it on the table.Then the players place there Meeples on whichever card they think has the number closest to the answer, without going over. (There is also a "1" card that you could choose if all the answers seem high.) The large Meeple is worth 2 points and the small is 1 point. Whoever has the right answer gets 1 point and then any Meeple on the right card gets it's designated point(s). The player that reaches the end of the scoreboard first, wins. It's That Easy!!

What We Thought: We absolutely love this game! We've played it several times since receiving it and continue to have fun with it. What's great is that even if you don't know the answer, you can still earn points by using someone else's answer. And the questions are kid friendly, too, like Disney questions and PEZ questions (no freebee answers here, lol). This is a game that the whole family can enjoy without the younger ones feeling bad that they don't know an answer. It really is a wonderful family friendly game.How To Purchase: You can purchase Wits & Wagers for $19.99 by clicking on the cart symbol on the North Star Games website here. You can also purchase at Target, Amazon, and local toy and game retailers. You can contact North Star Games here.To read other reviews by other TOS Crew members, you can click here. Thanks for reading my review and enjoy the game!!

And remember: I received this product free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew with sole purpose to provide an honest review after using the product. For more information on this, please see my disclaimer

Here is a video of my daughter playing for the Christmas Recital. The sound quality could be better. It's off of my Droid and it vibrates a little. But I still love to listen to her. (Yes, I'm slightly a proud mom)God has greatly blessed her with an incredible talent, IMHO. I pray that she will be able to use this talent to glorify Him throughout her life.

Have you attempted to teach fractions to an unwilling or unmotivated student? Are you frustrated with trying to figure out a way to help your child understand the concept of how a whole can have "parts"? As members of The TOS Crew, we have received Master Fraction and the Marvels of Measurement poster created by Master Innovations, LLC. Master Fraction allows you and your student to apply the concept of fractions to hands on - instead of just on paper. By using the manipulatives, the student can actually see a whole object become parts. The workbook draws from ideas or experiences that your student may have had: sharing lunch with someone, cutting a pizza into pieces for his family, creating a garden. This allows your student to think of an actual event instead of just look at a one dimensional picture. The Marvel of Measurements Poster offers common measurements in picture.

About Master Innovations: Their initial goal was to ensure that "each child in the classroom should own a Master Ruler". With the success of this goal, Master Innovations has strived to create additional manipulatives that the student can use to enhance their math learning experience. Currently, Master Innovations offers Master Ruler, Master Clock, Master Fractions, Master Angle, & Marvel of Measurements Poster. They are located in NJ and can be easily contacted by phone (908-859-1788) or email (info@themasterruler.com).

About Master Fraction: Master Fraction comes as a set of 3 transparent overlay units (books). Each unit has a white base with whole shapes printed: 2 circles, a square, and a rectangle. There are then transparent overlays that can be placed over the base to demonstrate the fraction. The 3 units are:~~Master Fraction 2: whole, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16~~Master Fraction 3: whole, 1/3, 1/6, 1/12~~Master Fraction 5: whole, 1/5, 1/10, 1/20

Each unit also offers fractions, decimals, percents, and equivalents printed on the back. The overlays can be written on with a dry erase marker which allows the student (or teacher) to color in a fraction to compare. The following video shows a Master Fraction demonstration.

About The Marvels Of Measurement Poster: This poster is HUGE :-) It lists measurements in fun, creative ways for the student to understand. Length in inches is demonstrated with examples of a finger, button, ldaybug, pencil tip, and flea in comparison. The items are measured with fractions of an inch. A very practical way for a student to visualize fractions. The poster also has capacity, weight, and distance listed, with equally enteraining pictures. Having this poster in your home will be fun as well as educational. It even can help in the kitchen (1 gallon is broken down into 1/2 gallon, quarts, pints, and cups). You can watch a video about the poster here.

What We Thought: We liked these products. They were fun to use and offered a neat method to studying fractions. My daughter (11th grade) liked them, too. She said that they helped her remember a little better. My son (5th grade) said didn't want to like it because it was schoolwork, lol. He really did like it, though. I could see that the manipulatives helped him have a better grasp of wholes, parts, and equivalents. He liked being able to color on the units, too, applying questions to the manipulative. The units appear to be quite sturdy, too. They are not flimsy and the "binding" is 5 tubular pieces that hold is together well. How To Buy: You can purchase Master Fraction overlays for just $17.95. You can add the Master Fraction Workbook for $15.95. The Marvels of Measurement Poster is only $10.00. Each of these items would be a wonderful addition to your homeschool classroom. They make learning fractions fun and interesting.You can see more reviews by the TOS Crew members here.

And remember: I received this product free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew with sole purpose to provide an honest review after using the product. For more information on this, please see my disclaimer